TV home shopping channel ValueVision and
NBCi, NBC’s Internet spin-off, on Tuesday
struck a cross-media deal worth $20 million with online
electronics retailer Roxy.com.
ValueVision and NBCi back in September formed an alliance which calls for
ValueVision to be renamed SnapTV and to closely work with NBCi’s Snap.com portal. At the time, the two
companies swapped stock, so each has an ownership interest in the other.
Since then, the two entities have worked together to partner with and
market e-commerce sites, leveraging both their online and television assets
in the deals.
This deal with Roxy.com, however, interlocks the companies involved in an
unprecedented way. Not only will NBCi and ValueVision take an equity stake
in Roxy.com and promote it on TV, on the Internet, and in marketing
campaigns, but Roxy.com and ValueVision will team to produce and broadcast
a one-hour weekly television show focusing on consumer electronics.
The show will feature information and expert help about consumer
electronics, and there will be plenty of selling going on, too.
The deal reveals a little about NBCi and ValueVision’s idea of how they can
work together to create a Snap brand that is more than a traditional
portal, using both online and offline media.
“As pure-play Internet companies seek alternative sales and distribution
channels to bolster their success, this deal
represents another example of how ValueVision is leveraging its strategy of
TV/Internet convergence,” says Stuart Goldfarb, vice chairman of ValueVision.
“Utilizing TV as a brand building and transactional
medium as opposed to just an advertising venue, ValueVision will continue
to partner with entertainment and content partners like Roxy.com, and
together provide a unique and entertaining shopping experience for its
viewers.”